


C is for Cool

by WhoStarLocked



Series: Clint Barton's Family Fics [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Aunt Natasha Romanov, Awesome Clint Barton, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Clint Barton is a Good Dad, Clint and Laura Barton's Family, Confusion, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff, Happy, IKEA, Love, POV Clint Barton, POV Laura Barton, Team Bonding, treehouse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:07:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22551487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhoStarLocked/pseuds/WhoStarLocked
Summary: Clint can't sleep, and designs a treehouse for his kids. He enlists help for the construction of said treehouse, meanwhile Laura has to keep two kids and baby occupied for a whole day. In IKEA.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Laura Barton
Series: Clint Barton's Family Fics [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1062950
Kudos: 16





	C is for Cool

C is for Cool (Children are 9, 6, and two and a half months) 20th July 2015

Laura moaned as a breeze wafted over her face, waking her up. Without opening her eyes, she turned onto her side, looking to curl around her husband for warmth. But warmth was not forthcoming, so with a frown, she opened her eyes.

Clint wasn’t lying next to her. His clothes were gone. 

Panic clutched Laura’s chest as she shot upright in the bed. Why would he be gone? Clint always told her if he was going somewhere. He would’ve even woken her up in the middle of the night if he was going on a mission, she was sure of it. In a worried haze, she pulled on her clothes and began searching.

He hadn’t left a note, or a text, he hadn’t gone to the kids’ rooms and there was absolutely nothing to clue Laura in to his whereabouts. She ran out onto the porch and her heart slammed in her chest when she realised that their truck was gone.

Although it was stupid, she searched the entire farm, and tried ringing. But, as she had known from the start, Clint didn’t appear or answer her. Eventually, Laura gave up. Leaving the kids in bed, she stayed in the front room and nursed a cup of strong coffee whilst she waited for her husband to return.

* * *

By the time the sounds of the truck driving up to the house reached her ears, Laura had talked herself in and out of several theories to explain Clint’s disappearance. The one her mind kept settling on – even though, rationally, she highly doubted it – was that he’d left to see another woman. Another man, she could understand – Clint was bisexual; there were always going to be things he needed or wanted that she couldn’t give him, and she respected that. But there was only one woman that Laura wouldn’t be jealous over, and she knew Clint hadn’t visited Natasha, because Natasha had answered her enquiring text with a negative. She was a _bit_ possessive over Clint. Anger and hurt flaring in her chest, Laura walked out onto the veranda to watch her husband’s return.

Much to her surprise, the back of the truck was loaded with timber. She watched with folded arms and a glare as Clint parked the truck and sauntered up to her, his usual smirk on his face. As he reached the stairs of the porch, he seemed to register her expression for the first time.

“What’s the matter? Did I wake up the minions when I left?” He asked, now looking slightly unnerved by Laura’s anger.

_Good!_ She thought viciously. _How_ dare _he try and play it off like that?_

“Where the _hell_ have you been?” She spat, letting her pent up anger leak into her tone. “There is no god damn reason in the world that you would have to sneak out in the middle of the night-”

“It was four thir-” He tried to interrupt, expression suddenly sheepish.

“ _In the middle of the night_ , without telling me where you’re going, or leaving a note, or answering your goddamn phone!” Laura continued over him. She didn’t particularly want to hear his answers right now. “Who is she? And what has she got that _I_ don’t?” She hissed. Only years of being a parent allowed her to keep from yelling at him. With a glare still firmly in place, she watched as her husband’s face fell. 

He hurried up the steps and wrapped his arms around her. “God, Laura, I haven’t- I would never do that to you.” He said gently. She unfolded her arms and hugged him back fiercely. “I just- I couldn’t sleep, you know how I get, so I got to thinking, wouldn’t it be nice to build the kids a treehouse?” He paused, and his grip on her tightened. “I’d never leave you for another woman, you know that, right?”

She cried. God, she hated when she overthought things, and then Clint had that worried tone, the one that meant he was suddenly questioning whether he’d been explicit enough with anything, ever.

Like someone would have built her this home from a dilapidated old ruin and then decide they didn’t want to be with her.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered into his chest, clinging on to him, suddenly needing his touch, to know that she hadn’t fucked this up too badly. “You were just gone and there was no note or anything and you’ve been ages, I just overthought it, and Nat said you hadn’t gone to see her, I assumed and I’m so sorry.”

Clint had pulled back slightly to look at her. A soft smile stole across his features as he brushed away her tears with his thumbs before he kissed her.

“It’s okay. Now I think about it, it probably did look fairly shady.” He replied gently. “I would’ve answered my phone, but it died.” Laura laugh-sniffed into his shoulder, and he held her close.

After a while, Laura drew back. “A treehouse?” She asked.

Clint grinned. “A treehouse. The best damn treehouse ever.”

* * *

“There’s no way you’re building that by yourself, in a day.” Laura pointed out around a gulp of tea. Clint was still looking over the sketched out building plan he’d been showing Laura as they had a drink.

“Who said I’m building it by myself?” He murmured back, eyes still roaming over the drawing. Laura frowned at him.

“You said you wanted me to take the kids out for the day so it was a surprise.” She pointed out, wrapping her hands around her mug for warmth.

Clint looked up at her with a devious grin. “I do have friends, you know.” He smirked. “Friends who _just_ happen to be very strong, and resilient, and good team-workers, who just so happen to owe me a favour or five hundred.”

Laura face-palmed. “You are not calling the avengers to come and help you build a treehouse, Clint.”

“Sure I am.” He replied smoothly. “They owe me big time for letting them lie low here, and they know it.”

“Clint, what if-”

“Well, obviously if they get a call out I’m not going to stop them going.” He cut her off with an eye-roll.

Laura blinked. She needed more caffeine for this. “Right. Fine. So, I’m taking the kids where, exactly?” She asked.

A smile played over Clint’s lips and he flipped the scrap of paper his sketch was on over. Whereas the other side had shown a construction drawing, this showed the finished thing. With furnishings. Right.

“You expect me to keep the kids occupied for a _whole day_ in _Ikea_?” She asked. “Have you gone mad? They hate that place!”

Clint shrugged. “They didn’t complain much when I took them in to pick out stuff for their rooms.” He looked up at her, taking a sip of his coffee.

“So, what, I should tell them they’re redecorating their rooms?”

“Sure, why not? Just tell them they’re not getting new beds or wardrobes or anything.” He answered.

“How about _you_ drag them around Ikea and _I’ll_ build the treehouse?” Laura huffed. She hated shopping. Of any kind.

Clint grinned. “It’s your daytime baby-duty week.”

Laura groaned.

* * *

The trip to Ikea was a disaster, just as Laura had expected. If it wasn’t Nate screaming for a feed, then it was Cooper and Lila squabbling, or bemoaning how bored they were, or complaining that Laura wouldn’t let them get anything _fun_.

(Clint owed her big time for this. _Big_ time.)

“Lila, you cannot get a new bedframe! The one you have is perfectly fine, and you only got it six months ago!” She explained for the fifth time, feeling her patience wearing thin.

Just as Lila began to protest, Cooper came barrelling back over to them yelling;

“Mom! Can we get food? They have those meatballs!” 

“Oh, yeah! Mom, please? I’m starving!”

Well, at least Lila had been derailed from wanting a new bed.

Laura scrubbed a hand over face.

“Sure, let’s get meatballs.” She sighed, grabbing the trolley with the finally sleeping Nate sat in the front.

Damn Clint and his damn ideas.

* * *

Clint couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he watched the avengers disembark from the quinjet. 

“Hey, fellow retired avenger.” Tony greeted as he reached Clint. “When I heard that Steve got a call saying you had some work that could be a good team-building exercise, I couldn’t resist. So, tell me, what are we doing?”

Without a word, Clint handed over the drawing of his idea, and waited whilst it had been passed round all the people now gathered around him. Steve huffed slightly.

“You know, this is not what I had in mind when you called.”

Clint beamed back at Steve, wholly undeterred. “But am I wrong, though?”

Steve cast a glance at the timber planks and tools scattered around the selected tree, and sighed.

“No, no. It will certainly be a challenge.”

“Awesome.” Clint probably looked far too smug, but he didn’t really care. “Let’s get going guys!”

* * *

Laura didn’t wait for Clint to answer before she spoke.

“We have a problem.” Over the phone, she could hear the sounds of tools, and yelling.

“What’s that?” Clint asked, and he was clearly distracted. Probably still working as he answered the phone. 

“We have exhausted Ikea. There is nothing else that we need to buy, and they’re starting to be unreasonable about it.”

“We need another couple of hours, three tops.” Clint informed her.

“Well, they’re not being spent in Ikea, Clint, and it’s only an hour’s drive, so.”

“Doesn’t your mother live over that way?”

“You hate my mother as much as she hates you, why do you know where she lives?” Laura asked. She wasn’t overly fond of spending time with her mom, knowing that she couldn’t stand the sight or mention of the man Laura loved.

“She rang to pester about when she gets to meet her grandson.”

“Oh, brilliant.” Laura let the sarcasm fill her tone. She just knew that Clint was biting back a grin on the other side of the phone. “Text the address. And you ring me as soon as you’re done! We’re not staying a second longer than we have to!” She hissed.

“Sure thing, sweetheart. Love ya!” He called as he hung up. A few minutes later, a text appeared. With an internal groan, she loaded the kids into the car, fed the address to the sat-nav and set off.

* * *

“Hey mom,” Laura tried not to sound too miserable as her mom wrapped her up in a hug.

“Oh, Laura, it’s so lovely to see you, even in these circumstances.” As she ushered the kids inside, she blinked.

“What circumstances?” She asked, frowning at Elizabeth’s back. Laura knew she was probably going to be pissy at the fact that their daughter wasn’t name after her, but Laura hated the name Elizabeth. She cringed at the thought as Lila took in the front room.

“Well, I can see the kids’ stuff in the car, he’s split up with you hasn’t he?” Before Laura could explain that she was wrong, her mother was off. “I mean, I warned you enough times, dear, really, he wasn’t ever good enough for you. I never did like him, you know. He’s so shifty, honestly dear you’ll be far better off without-”

“You split up with dad?” Cooper interrupted suddenly, on the verge of tears.

Laura pulled him into a tight hug.

“No, darling!” She soothed, glaring at her mom. “Me and your dad are fine. We’re just out for the day, buying things to redecorate your rooms.” Laura was barely containing the anger that was bubbling up inside her.

Her mother’s face fell.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I assumed... I didn’t mean to upset you Cooper.”

“It’s okay, grandma.” 

“Well, I’m glad that’s sorted out. So, who’d like a drink?”

Laura collapsed onto the couch with Nate as Elizabeth bustled around, settling Cooper and Lila with drinks and a biscuit.

Eventually, she sat down next to Laura, plucking Nate out of her lap.

“So, who’s this handsome chap?” She beamed at the baby, and Laura grinned reluctantly.

“Mom, this is Nathaniel.”

Laura let her coo over the baby for about an hour, grateful for the chance to relax.

* * *

Clint couldn’t hold back a grin as he watched his former teammates swear and curse while they built the treehouse. It was turning out to be a great training exercise for Steve’s new team, and despite their gradually increasing grumpiness, they were getting close to the final stages of construction. He, Natasha, Steve and Tony had all ducked out of the actual in-tree building. Their official reason, if questioned, was that they were stuck on the ground, while Rhodey, Sam, Wanda, and Vision could all fly. In reality, Steve and Natasha were using it as an opportunity to assess the new team’s teamwork. Clint and Tony were just being lazy, but Clint was not above lying to get an hour off work.

They’d spent most of the morning cutting the timber down to fit the requirements for the house. Then, they’d had a fun hour weather-proofing the wood. Thankfully, it hadn’t been a handheld paint-brush job, thanks to Tony being able to hastily engineer a spray paint machine using the garden hose and a partially disassembled quinjet.

After that, the real teamwork had begun. They’d all had to help hold up beams and planks to build up the supports and the floor, but as soon as the decking was complete, Clint had opted to go make coffee for everyone instead of helping, and Tony had quickly followed his lead.

He had to admit, with just finishing touches being put on the roof, the treehouse looked even better than Clint had imagined from his half-baked insomnia-fuelled diagram.

He laid back against a nearby tree, basking in the sun, watching as tools were finally laid down, and a complete tree house stood, looking like something out of a fairytale as the evening sunlight dappled across it. 

“So tell me, what brought this on?” Natasha asked softly, settling cross-legged next to him.

“Just thought it would be nice for them. They can play without supervision, and I know they’re safe.” Clint answered, still admiring the finished product. Maybe they weren’t a good fighting team yet, but they had managed to pull through for this. There was hope.

“You know Laura is gonna want to kill you, right? A whole day in ikea, and visiting her mom…” She trailed off. Clint held his breath, waiting. Natasha had a habit of giving three reasons. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Oh, also Tony has invited everyone to dinner here because he spotted your grill.”

Clint let out a heavy sigh, letting his head fall back on the trunk behind him. He probably should’ve seen that coming, but really, it wasn’t a bad price to pay for all the free manual labour. It would definitely seem worth it once he saw the kids’ faces when they saw it.

“Well, Tony can go get the extra food, then.”

Tony did, and they had a great evening grilling tons of burgers and steaks, which all got devoured horrifyingly quickly. Lila squealed with delight when she saw the tree, and she and Cooper raced to get inside first. Their pent-up energy was easily spent getting them to unpack their new belongings, and of course that night they both begged to be allowed to camp out. Laura grudgingly allowed it, and warmth spread through Clint’s chest as he was suddenly wrapped up in hugs from both his children.

“You’re the coolest, bestest dad ever!” Lila declared, before running into the house to get a book and a torch, Cooper on her heels.

Clint was suddenly overcome with pride. Every fear, every insecurity, every moment of doubt that he could ever be a good parent had been pushed from his mind with those words. He could feel tears welling in his eyes, and he pressed a hand against his chest, still reeling from the impact of that one sentence.

“See?” Laura said, watching him with a smile. “I always told you you’d be a great dad.”

The feeling was cemented when he received a mug proclaiming him as “The World’s Coolest Dad!” for father’s day that year.


End file.
